this is for me//hydration

Writing this blog is primarily for me, though I’m fully aware of the publicness of posting on the interwebs. Sharing tidbits of information in each post is an intention as well, but as I’m not reaching a ton of people yet, this is just a sort of journal for me. I include the instructional pieces because I love to feel like I’m doing some good, hopefully helping others avoid the pains and pitfalls I’ve endured. But writing, like running, is mostly for my benefit. The running part is definitely just for me. As a runner mama it’s great for my sanity. And committing to and hopefully achieving a goal is huge. Some of my personal goals are to run this marathon well, to feel good and happy doing it, to build a strong foundation to run strong times later on-ones that will BQ me later, to run Boston well later, to train to run utlras and long trail runs later, to be in good running shape, and to learn more about the best way to train my body for this type of endurance sport.

One HUGE piece I, and so many others, runners and non-runners alike, neglect on a day-to-day basis is hydration. I’m a morning runner primarily so it’s really hard to get enough water pre-workout. I try to have access to water while I run and make dang sure to hydrate adequately throughout the day after a run. You want to make sure you’re getting enough water, but not too much. One great way to do this is to be drinking enough that your urine is consistently clear throughout the day, but not so much that you have to use the facilities every 10 minutes. My favorite trail to run on has conditioned me to be pretty lazy. It has water fountains every mile. Super cush. I’ve also never been one to carry water with me so this trail has been a huge help, especially for long runs. I want to start experimenting with hydration systems that hopefully I will review on here in future too. Stay tuned!

Another way to make sure you’re re-hydrating adequately is to weigh yourself before and after a workout. I typically only do this before and after my long runs. It’s a bit tedious and hard to remember to do, but simple enough to execute. I’m obsessive, but I weigh myself necked pre-run, then as soon as I get home do the same thing. The weight difference is going to be water weight lost and what’s lost will need to be replenished. So let’s say you’ve lost 4 pounds on a long run. 16oz to a pound.. you’d need to drink 64oz in addition to your normal daily requirement to get back to baseline.

When you’re losing this much, it’s important to drink something that will help replenish electrolytes as well. For any high intensity aerobic workout over 1 hour in duration it’s going to be important to do this. My favorite is chocolate milk and as a runner mama we always have that on hand! Research has shown that it performs just as well or better as a recovery drink than fancy post-recovery drinks. AND it’s much less expensive. AND tastes frickin good. Triple boom! So get your buns on out the door friends, keep putting one foot in front of the other and enjoy a post-workout recovery “cold one” whatever that may be for you. Cheers J

about me

Hi my name’s Ash! Training for my 5th marathon. 20 years a runner. Degreed in Exercise Science. Obsessed with figuring out how to get the most out of my runs, have fun and be injury free. I want to pass on my love for this personal sport and hopefully help others achieve their goals as well.